Providence Grove boys get clean slate in attempt to turn program around

Providence Grove High School boys basketball coach Calvin Brown wanted everyone on his team to have a clean slate. That’s why when he first arrived, he didn’t ask many questions about who would be on his team, who would be the key players and why the team hadn’t enjoyed any success in recent years.

He wanted every player to realize that no roles had been defined and no one had a starting position.

“I know things haven’t been good and I don’t know why,” said Brown, who moves over to Providence Grove from Southern Guilford High School. “I’m not worried about that. I wanted a fresh slate, a clean slate. We just need to get our confidence back and believe.”

After the first few weeks of practice, Brown said he’s excited to start the season, which begins Monday at Randleman High School. With a couple of very athletic players returning in Stedman Rush and Detri Wilson and a number of very capable scorers also returning in Kyle McDonald, Shaun Maness, Jackson Koenig and Seth Hardin, Brown said he feels he has the components to have a good season.

“We’re going to have a disciplined basketball team and we’re going to play good defense and play hard everytime we step on the court,” Brown said. “The guys have done a great job of doing what I asked them to do.”

In recent years, the Patriots were pretty much put on the floor to start a game and they roamed freely up and down the court, firing up shots that had no chance of going in. It was more of a case of seeing how many shots the team could fire up rather than looking for a good scoring situation.

That didn’t help at the defensive end as the Patriots, despite their athleticism, were repeatedly beaten down the floor, allowing a great deal of points to their opponents.

“Right now, we’re trying to get better,” Brown said. “We’re going to play hard, I know that much. I don’t know what that means as far as wins and losses, but they are going to give it everything they got.”

Brown said after a few initial jitters, the team looked good in its first scrimmage against North Moore earlier this week.

“I was real pleased with how we looked at the effort we got,” Brown said. “Being the first time out there, there were some jitters. But they have picked up what I want them to do very well. I haven’t seen anyone wanting to do their own thing. I tell them if they have an open shot I want them to take it. As long as its within our offense.”

In Rush, the Patriots have a leader on the floor. Also the quarterback for the football team, Rush has plenty of experience in a leadership position.

“He’s a great kid and a great all-around leader,” Brown said. “I think me being with him during the football season allowed him to get to know what I want, too.”

Rush will be counted on to lead the interior. As will Wilson, who was still nursing an ankle injury but is expected to be ready for Monday’s opener. Sophomore Hardin will provide strength underneath, giving the Patriots three solid inside players.

Keonig and Jonathan Ritch will provide added depth.

“They are going to give us great depth at the wing position,” Brown said. “They will do all the little things needed to be done.”

The backcourt will feature sharp-shooting Kyle McDonald and point Shaun Maness.

“Shaun is going to run our offense,” Brown said. “He comes in and calms everyone down and is one of the better defenders as well. He may be the most important person we have on our roster.”

Brown said he expects a “share the wealth” offense with different players getting shots depending on the defense.

“We don’t have the personnel to take people off the dribble, so they’ve done a good job of learning the sets we have put in,” Brown said.

Defensively, the Patriots, Brown said, will be giving 100 percent at all times. He said he expects to change defenses frequently in order to keep teams off balance.

“We haven’t talked a whole lot about last year, like I said it’s a clean slate,” Brown said. “We are going to teach a positive mentality, a mentality where they expect to win every time they take the floor.”